Electric terminal



Sept. 26, 1939.

G. E. ANDRE ELECTRIC TERMINAL Filed April 2, 193s Patented Sept. 26, 1939 i "UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ELECTRIC TERMINAL Gustaf E. Andre, Richmond; Ind., assignor to Belden Manufacturing Company, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application April 2, 1936, Serial No. 72,242

z claims. (ci. 173-361) This invention relates generally to electrical Fig. is a sectional view on the line 5-5 lof connectors and more particularly to 'electric ap- Fig. 4; and pliance cord or like terminals for connecting an' Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the body porelectric device to an electric outlet. Such tertion of the terminal illustrated in other gures 5 minals are commonly referredr to as connector of the drawing. 5

plugs and under the present practice the plugs Referring particularly to the drawing, the imare of such design that they are described as of proved terminal of my invention includes a prethe prong or male type. molded, body portionl of a suitable resilient in- Terminals of the typev referred to are made `sulating material, such as vulcanized rubber. with a main body part of resilient, more or less This body portion I is provided with a pair of l0 soft, rubber'or similar material, so as to be subopposed recesses 2, having the general form of stantially unbreakable under ordinary condiright rectangular prisms, molded therein for the tions of use. The present invention pertains to reception of the two prong type contacts 3,. The a form of such unbreakable terminal or plug body portion is generally rectangular in cross l5 comprising a one-piece, pre-molded, main body section, this shape having particular advantages l5 which is adapted to be assembled\with a conas willl be pointed out in a subsequent paragraph. ductor and the required contact prongs, the In order to receive the cord I with which the l body, being so formed that its inherent resiliency terminal iS used, the bOdY DOItiOn l iS Provided serves to hold the assembled parts in their aswith a generallyoylindrical passageway 5 formed 2o Sembled Operative relation, C, in the lower, central portion thereof. This pas- 20 The principal objects of the present invention SageWay 5 iS nOrmally Substantially ClOSed at its are to provide a. terminal of the one-piece body upper end by a barrier wall molded integrally type referred to, wherein the component parts With the bOdY DOYtOn itSelf- A, SlOt 01 Cut 6, of the terminal may be easily assembled either Which is provided T01' Permitting Passage 0f the 26 ine factory or on the job without eieborote; ex- Cord Conductors .ithroueh the body portion dur- 25 pensive Special tools orxapparetus; to provide a, -ing the assembling operation, serves to divide terminal wherein therassembled parte are ef the barrier wall into two cooperatingrhalf secfectively held in assembled relation as an inci- @ons a' Thls Slots extends into lhehody Por' dent to the inherent resiliency of the terminal non I of the termnal for aboutpne'ha'lf 0f like body, but wherein the parts may be disassembled length thereof, as isv shown particularly in Figs. 30 and reassembled from time to time if r desired; 1 2 and 4' If desired tihe'wldth of the Slot 6 to provide a terminal wherein the electrical conmay be increased at the mtenor of the .body as nections between the conductor wires and the ll:(olsdisfrigogrggbr in lls are .adequately houseg. arid pro'- tions 8 are generally triangular in outline, in or- 35 provide a terminal whlch 1s neat d th t th sh u t t in appearance and durable, but which may be er a' ey a Serve o separa' e and Pos1 tion the ends of the cord conductors 'l normally manufactured and assembled at a very low cost.

Other objects and advantages of the invention dllfg vglgsgblmdy sorga? th h d 4 will be understood by reference to the following g gpe lo e c or with which the terminal is' used is pushed en- 40 ,speel cat1,n a'nd accompanymg drafwmg Where' tirely through the central passageway 5 formed 1n there 1s*v illustrated an electric terminal emwithin the body rtion I, as is shown in Fi s. bodying a selected form of rthe invention. 4 and 5 'The begd ends of the two eonduetogrs In the drawing:y 1 are then inserted within suitable holes I0 45. Fig- 1 S a SeCtOnl View, partially in elevation. formed in the contacts 3. If desired, these con- 45- Iof a terminal constructed in accordance with the ductor's may be soldered thereto, as 1s Shown at principles 0f my invention; I Il. The body portion I ol!l the terminal is then Fig- 2 1S a Sectional View 0n the lne.22 0f slid along the cord until the lower ends of the Fig. l; contacts 3 have engaged the recesses 2 provided Fia 3 is a Sectional view on the line 3-3 of therefor. When this occurs, the cord 4 and the 50 Fig.- 3; several elements of the terminal are in the po- Fig. 4 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 1, vsition shown in Figs. 1 and 2. As soon as the showing the elements of my improved terminal .outer endl or' the cord 4 is moved beneath the and a portion of cord at an intermediate stage in cooperating sections' forming the barrier in the the assembling operation; upper end of the body portion of the terminal, 55

- those sections move to the position shown in V-shaped passageway Within the body portion I for receiving and positioning the ends of the cord conductors, thereby rendering the plug much safer during use. The operation of the cooperating barrier portions 8 is entirely automatic, and

I moreover, the barrier portions do not interfere in yto the slightest with the assembling operation, due to the inherent flexibility thereof. Y

'Ihe rectangular shaperof the body portion l is an important factor in facilitating the assembling of the plug, for the reason that a body portion of this shape has relatively flexiblefside walls and can be readily deformed to permit the cord to be pushed entirely therethrough. rther, the rectangular shape of the body rtion permits this desirable lateral flexibility without loss of sufiicient inherent rigidity to properly support the prong contacts. Also, a plug body of this type is extremely convenient to grasp and use, the opposed fiat sides providing a convenient indicator for aligning the plug prongs with the contacts of the cooperating receptacle.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that I have disclosed'the features of a novel form of terminal which has numerous advantages of the structures known to the prior art. My improved terminal utilizes a minimum of structural elements, it is readily assembled and disassembled, and when in use provides a substantially completely enclosed device without necessitating the use of a sealing plug, sealing compound, or additional molding operation. Moreover, the device is quite fool-proof and is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.

Various modifications of the invention may be apparent to those skilled in the'art, and it is my intention that the accompanying claims shall be construed as broadly as possible consistent with the state of the art.

I claim:

1. In a terminal for an electric cord, a pair of prong contacts, and a one-piece molded body portion of resilient insulating material having a suitable recess formed in one end thereof for receiving and supporting said contacts in spaced relationship, said body portion also having a,

tion for receiving the cord with which said terminal is used, said passageway being substantially closed adjacent the contact end of said body portion by a barrier which comprises a shaped sections positioned between the conduc` tor ends whereby the latter are held in spaced relationship the apex of each barrier .being positioned at the inner end of the open-ended passageway.

2. In a terminal for an electric cord, a plurality of contacts, and a one-piece molded body of resilient insulating material having suitable -recesses formed in one end thereof for receiving and supporting said contacts, said body portion also having a centrally disposed, open-ended passageway of generally uniform 4cross sectional area extending thereinto from the other end of said body portion for receiving the-cord with which said terminal is used, there being an end closure for said passageway at the contact end of said body, said closure comprising a plurality of cooperating wall portions extending inwardly across the end of said passageway and being disconnected from each other by a centrally `ar ranged slot for permitting the cord with which the terminal is used to be passed through said end closure during the attachment of the terminal to the cord, said wall portions tapering in thickness and each being shaped generally to form a triangular lug with the apex thereof directed towards said passageway so as to increase the flexibility thereof adjacent said centrally arranged slot,l whereby displacement of said wall portions is facilitated during the attachment of the terminal to the cord the adjacent opposed faces of said triangular lugs being flared away from each other towards the apex thereof on both sides of the center line of the body whereby to provide sloping surfaces over which the cord may slide in passing between said lugs.

GUs'rAF E. ANDRE. 

